• Adhocism prevalent in ministry despite Pims tragedy
• Several wings and depts still being run through acting heads, undermining continuity
ISLAMABAD: While consistency in policies is considered directly linked to the continuity of secretaries’ tenures in ministries and divisions, the federal health ministry has had its seventh secretary during the 18-month tenure of Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal.
Health experts believe the ministry is suffering severely from adhocism, which is widely practised in most of its ancillary departments and facilities.
A senior ministry officer said the health minister was not empowered to remove or appoint secretaries as such appointments were made through the Cabinet Secretariat and Establishment Division.
According to a document available with Dawn, Dr Muhammad Fakhre Alam Irfan, a BS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service currently posted as Power Division secretary, has been assigned additional charge of National Health Services secretary, in addition to his existing duties, for three months or until the posting of a regular incumbent, whichever is earlier.
No lessons learnt
A health expert, requesting anonymity, said it was strange that even after the incident at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), in which 14 newborn babies were burnt alive, the health ministry was still being run through adhoc arrangements.
“Currently, Pims, Polyclinic, a number of wings of the health ministry and departments are being run through acting heads. It is strange that seven health secretaries have been changed during the last 18 months. If we look at the health director general, we will see an almost similar trend as hardly any director general served for three months,” he said.
When asked about the changes in secretaries, he said Nadeem Mahboob, Mirza Nasiruddin Mashood, Waqarul Hasan, Hamed Yaqoob, Aslam Ghauri and retired Capt Mahmood had been replaced, and the post had now been given to Dr Fakhre Alam.
“Nadeem Mahboob survived till March 2025, Nasiruddin Mashood till May 2025, Waqarul Hasan till June 2025, Hamed Yaqoob till Feb 2026, Aslam Ghauri till August 2026, Captain Mahmood till Sept 2026 and now Fakhre Alam has been given charge for three months, but the notification clearly mentions that he can be removed much earlier,” he said.
Another health expert said acting heads and secretaries preferred to run departments and ministries on a short-term basis and rarely took decisions with long-term implications.
A senior administrative officer of the ministry, wishing not to be named, said the health minister could not appoint officers in Basic Pay Scale (BPS) 20 and above.
“So the health minister cannot be blamed for frequent changes in the ministry. The fact is that two secretaries were removed during high-level meetings that were not being headed by the minister. In one meeting, a secretary was removed and within a minute it was announced that Hamed Yaqoob would be the next secretary,” he added.
When contacted, Health Minister Kamal told Dawn that he had carried out 30 years’ worth of work during his 18-month tenure.
“There were 2,100 beds in the public-sector hospitals of Islamabad, but I included 2,595 more beds by introducing health cards in 15 new hospitals. A trauma centre is being established in Islamabad, basic health units have been made operational, telemedicine has been introduced and I have put the health sector on a track which will address all the issues,” he claimed.
Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2026
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